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Uncertain Nights
'' Uncertain Nights, by AppleCobbler (applecobbler123), Noxy (equanox) and Ross (ross1998) - AKA 'ACORN Productions' - was an urban serial drama set in the fictional shopping district of Nights Cross in the West Midlands city of Birmingham. Most of the drama took place on Violet Lane, where residents lived and/or ran their own businesses. Season 1 began on Monday 24th October 2011, ending on Friday 13th July 2012 with Episode 128. A special episode to mark the UK Olympics ceremony of 2012, titled 'Olympic Nights' (written by AppleCobbler), aired on Sunday 12th July 2012, complete with its own Olympics-themed title card designed by Noxy (who would later join the show as an Executive Producer). As 'Olympic Nights' was a one-off spin-off - with no storylines connected to the main show - it is not regarded as an official episode of 'Uncertain Nights.' However, given that it was broadcast during Season 1, it is regarded as being a part of the Season 1 era. Season 2 of 'Unertain Nights' began on Tuesday 28th August 2012 with Episode 129, ending on Friday 26th July 2013 with Episode 245. Season 2 is made up of 116 episodes, compared with Season 1's 128 episodes. This is due to a gradual reduction of output between 2012-13. The much shorter (and final) Season 3 began on Monday 26th August 2013 with Episode 246, ending on Thursday 24th October 2013 - the show's second anniversary - with the final episode of the show. Season 3 consists of just 25 episodes. Season 3 is notably more low-key with its storytelling compared to the busy Season 2, as ACORN attempted to tie up as many loose ends as possible in order to bring the show to a close, after two years on air. 'Uncertain Nights' is one of only three WX projects which began in 2011 (the others being the still active 'These Days' and 'The Avenue'). With 270 episodes under its belt, 'Uncertain Nights' is likely to remain the WX project with the most number of episodes to its name for the forseeable future. 'Uncertain Nights' is the fourth most successful project in the history of Writers Express - and the second most successful soap - having won 19 WRIXAS (Writers Express Awards). The show also had a number of scritped episodes, the final of which was Episode 248 - broadcast on Wednesday 28th August 2013 - as part of the Season 3 opening week five-nighter. From Monday 30th September-Friday 4th October 2013, a five-part x five-minute spin-off series called the 'Uncertain Nights Monologues', was aired. The series - like the main show - consisted of bittersweet writing, and was shown the week after Season 3 launched. No episodes of Season 3 aired in the week that the Monologues series did. Again, though the Monologues are not official episodes of 'Uncertain Nights', they are regarded as being part of the Season 3 era. The monologues included the characters of Cass Franklin (Monday 30th September 13), Charlie Banks (Tuesday 1st October 2013), MIa Palmer (Wednesday 2nd October 2013), Oscar Clark (Thursday 3rd October 2013) and finally Nancy Evans (Friday 4th October 2013). The first four Monologues were written by Noxy, with the final monologue co-written by AppleCobbler and Noxy. The series was met by critical acclaim. In all, between Monday 24th October 2011 and Thursday 24th October 2013, there were 270 episodes of 'Uncertain Nights' and five episodes of the 'Uncertain Nights Monologues'. The project fell into real-time delay in September 2013, but eventually finished its run on Saturday 25th January 2014. Scheduling History '''2011' The first episode of 'Uncertain Nights' was broadcast on Monday 24th October 2011. From the outset, four episodes a week were published three days a week; one episode on Mondays, one on Thursdays, two on Fridays (double bill) and one on Sundays. This continued until Sunday 27th November 2011 (Episode 25). The project then took a three week sabbatical, until it returned with Episode 26 on Monday 19th December 2011. In this week, it ran for five nights until Episode 30 on Friday 23rd December 2011. Storylines OCTOBER 2011 With Percy Renshaw causing trouble among his in-laws, his wife's Natalie's parents, Simone and Raymond Evans, decide that they have had enough of his behaviour and throw him out. Percy then steals Oscar Clark's credit card, transferring £75,000 into his own bank account- which he then uses as a bargaining tool to persuade Raymond to hand over full control of family business Evans' Espressos. A furious Oscar confronts Percy, but is forced to concede there is zero evidence. Meanwhile, Percy comes up with a sob story allowing him and Natalie to move back in with the Evans family. Elsewhere, Lavender House owners Gordon Palmer and Patrick Clark encounter relationship problems when Patrick is caught kissing one of the gay bar's customers, Tyler. Gordon dumps Patrick, but soon takes him back upon Patrick convincing him that the kiss with Tyler meant nothing. There is trouble for the Richardsons as Ewan tries to mediate the situation amid his current wife Brenda and daughter Leah's heated rows. Ewan encourages Leah to get a job at Evans' Espressos, yet this works out badly with Leah being rude towards customers. And Oscar, along with wife Sanchia, draws up plans for the redeveloping of their nightclub Good Nights. NOVEMBER 2011 Confiding in son Titus that he finds Simone controlling, Raymond visits a brothel, lying about his whereabouts to Simone. He continues to do this until a bad experience with one of the girls there leads him to strangle a prostitute and throw her bin-bagged body into a canal. Raymond is horrified to realise that the woman in Sanchia, who has been moonlighting as a worker at the brothel amid her own arguments with Oscar. When Raymond drunkenly admits what he's done to the residents of the Lane, he takes them to the canal- only to find that the bag which he thought contained Sanchia's body has disappeared, allowing him to pass his confession off as drunken nonsense. Patrick sees an infatuated Tyler's true colours when Tyler attacks Gordon, who Patrick then proposes to and the pair become engaged, with Tyler seething in the distance. In other developments Brenda and Leah's arguments continue, Titus' relationship with new girlfriend Valerie fast becomes serious when he asks her to move in with him, and Natalie finds out that she is pregnant. DECEMBER 2011 Percy manages to convince a bereft Oscar that Raymond has a connection to Sanchia's disappearance, with a furious Oscar proceeding to assault Raymond. Oscar is then informed by the police that they are presuming Sanchia is dead, leading him to attempt suicide- a move which Patrick manages to dissaude him from. The Lane gets into the Christmas spirit, and Kimberly Johnson organises a Christmas dinner at her restaurant, Kansas Diner. Tensions among the residents boil over and lead to a food fight, before things take a tragic turn when a taxi smashes into the restaurant- leaving Ewan, Percy and Kimberly all unconscious, whilst the cab's driver is pronounced dead. Percy and Ewan both come round, with Raymond instigating a needless argument with Percy and Brenda discovering that Ewan has only two weeks to live as a result of his injuries. This drives Ewan to compile a bucket list. Kimberly undergoes emergency surgery to save her life, and as she starts to recover the remains of ''Kansas Diner ''are bulldozed. Elsewhere a hastily deleted text from mother Joan prompts Patrick and Gordon to hit the rocks once more, with Gordon suggesting a relationship break. And Valerie admits to a disappointed Titus that she's not as enthusiastic about his idea of opening a theatre as he is. Final Cast